Babies, birthdays and basketball: B.C.’s good news stories for 2023 | Globalnews.ca
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It’s no secret the world can be a tough place and it can be hard to find the good news among all the heavier stories.
However, with the creation of our Feel-Good Friday newsletter, we’ve managed to provide our viewers with some of the good news in every week, directly to their inbox.
And while it was a challenge to pick only 10, here are some of the gems that made us smile and see the world a little bit brighter.
Video captures extraordinary moment elephant seal gives birth on B.C. island
In January, a video posted online by a wilderness guide and photographer captured the extraordinary moment a northern elephant seal gave birth.
Derek Sterling, a Pearson College UWC Ecoguardian, was living on Great Race Rock in the Juan de Fuca off Vancouver Island, and caught the moment from the doorway of the Ecoguardian home. He said long lenses are used to minimize any disturbance to the flora and fauna on the reserve.
The video showed an elephant seal on the ground, moving around and then giving birth. The baby started moving almost immediately and it appeared mama seal had to make sure a nearby onlooker didn’t get too close to her new offspring.
Tiny B.C. toddler becomes viral TikTok sensation working in his parents’ store
A pint-sized toddler in a small B.C. city captured the attention of millions around the world in February.
Thomas Pethick, at only 15 months old, already loves to help out in his parents’ water utility company in Quesnel.
A TikTok video of him “working” at the store has received more than 33 million views.
All Native Basketball Tournament great for community and economy in Prince Rupert
The All Native Basketball Tournament, in its 63rd year, was hosted in Prince Rupert in February.
The small town of 12,000 enjoys welcoming the estimated 4,000 athletes, family, friends and fans to the community every year.
“It’s an incredible honour to be able to host the All Native here in Prince Rupert,” Mayor Herb Pond said at the time.
“Bringing greetings on behalf of the people of Prince Rupert, seeing everybody in the games and saying ‘You’re welcome here, this is your second home,’ is a fantastic feeling.”
Prince Rupert is at the centre of Ts’msyen territory with a large Indigenous population – over 5,000 – and the All Native is the “cultural heartbeat” of the city. Pond said when everyone gets together for the tournament, it’s basketball but it’s also family.
B.C. girl starts pet treat business with all proceeds going to animal rescue organizations
An 11-year-old North Vancouver girl is improving the lives of rescue animals around the world, one treat at a time.
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Haela St-Louis loves animals, and in March, found a way to raise money for rescue organizations by starting thebarkingbakery.ca.
“My love for pets inspired me to start this project,” she said.
“I love baking and when I realized that the pet treat industry made tens of millions of dollars a year, I thought people would love to buy treats that helped out homeless and abused pets. I know I would buy those treats.”
λugʷaləs becomes first baby in B.C. to have his Indigenous name on birth certificate
λugʷaləs K’ala’ask Shaw finally has a birth certificate to call his own.
In late March, the 14-month-old was the first child in B.C. to have his Indigenous name on his registration.
“It’s a win for us,” said the boy’s mother, Crystal Smith. “It’s definitely something to be celebrated, but it’s also not finished.”
The family sued B.C.’s Vital Statistics Agency after it refused to register their infant’s name three times due to its Kwak’wala lettering.
‘That’s emotions, mama’: B.C. boy and mom share heartfelt talk before bedtime
A four-year-old boy in Prince George got some worldwide attention in April for a heartfelt conversation with his mom before bedtime.
Jonisa Padernos filmed her young son Aldie as he shared a range of emotions he went through in a day, including sadness when he wasn’t allowed to go outside. After exchanging a few words of wisdom, however, Aldie and his mom share a hug.
“There’s no one else that matters to me so much,” he says.
The clip went viral on TikTok, accumulating 9.8 million views in one day. Users expressed their awe in the comment section over Aldie’s advanced emotional intelligence.
104-year-old WWII vet walking 104 laps of his B.C. home to raise money for charity
At 104 years old, most people would expect to be slowing down, but Oak Bay’s John Hillman wasn’t ready to do that yet.
On May 1, Hillman began walking around the courtyard of his Carlton House home for 10 days, raising money for Save the Children’s emergency fund to celebrate his birthday.
When he was 101, he walked 101 laps; when he was 102, he walked 102 laps; when he turned 103, he walked 103 laps, and this year, he wanted to walk 104 laps.
“My birthday was coming up on the 18th of March of this year, 104 years old, and they gave me the dates for the first to the 10th of May,” the Second World War veteran told Global News.
Hillman said he was first inspired to raise money by Capt. Tom Moore in England, who was also a Second World War veteran. Moore walked into the hearts of a nation in pandemic lockdown as he shuffled up and down his garden to raise money for health-care workers.
Just one person came to his birthday last year. This time, a B.C. boy is getting a party
A young boy whose birthday party made the news for the wrong reasons last year received a birthday party to remember this year.
David Chen, a dad of four, told Global News in 2022 they wanted to throw a party for his son Max, who has autism, on his sixth birthday. He said they wanted to have an all-class party so they picked a venue and sent out invitations.
“Unfortunately, we got one person that said yes, two people that said no and 16 that didn’t say anything,” Chen said. “It was kind of an empty feeling.”
Chen didn’t want to blame anyone for what happened, but was thrilled with the turnout in 2023.
‘She’s healthy, she’s happy’: Missing teen survives more than 50 hours in B.C. park
It was the best possible outcome for a teenage girl who was missing for more than 50 hours in Golden Ears Park in June.
Esther Wang, 16, went missing when she was separated from her group. More than 50 hours later, she walked out of the trail on her own.
“She’s healthy, happy and with her family,” Supt. Wendy Mehat with Ridge Meadows RCMP told media the next day.
“That’s the best possible outcome.”
‘I’m so lucky’: B.C. man’s children arrive at YVR after fleeing Gaza
In November, a B.C. man was finally reunited with his two children who were trapped in Gaza.
After losing contact with them during the conflict between Israel and Hamas, Mohammad Fayad’s children arrived at the Vancouver International Airport.
“I’m so lucky…. This is like being reborn,” Fayad told Global News. “No words to describe how happy I am.”
Fayed fled Gaza in 2013 and was forced to leave his children behind in the care of their uncle. When he became a Canadian permanent resident he began the process of getting his children’s paperwork in order and the conflict sped up his urgency.
The children, 14 and 12, were transported to Cairo and then flew through Frankfurt, landing at YVR accompanied by their uncle, who left his own family behind in Gaza.
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